A Multimodel Framework for Quantifying Flow and Advective Transport Controlled by Earthquake-Induced Canister Failures in a Reference Case for Radioactive Waste Geological Disposal

Yun-Chen Yu, Chi-Jen Chen, Chih-Cheng Chung, Chuen-Fa Ni (), I-Hsien Lee (), Yuan-Chieh Wu and Tzu-Yu Lin
Additional contact information
Yun-Chen Yu: Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Taoyuan 32546, Taiwan
Chi-Jen Chen: Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Taoyuan 32546, Taiwan
Chih-Cheng Chung: Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Taoyuan 32546, Taiwan
Chuen-Fa Ni: Graduate Institute of Applied Geology, National Central University, Taoyuan 32001, Taiwan
I-Hsien Lee: Center for Environmental Studies, National Central University, Taoyuan 32001, Taiwan
Yuan-Chieh Wu: Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Taoyuan 32546, Taiwan
Tzu-Yu Lin: Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Taoyuan 32546, Taiwan

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-26

Abstract: Characterizing flow and transport for earthquake-induced shear canister failure is critical for the performance and safety assessment of radioactive waste geological disposal. The study presents a modeling framework that integrates multiple models to account for fractures produced by shear displacements, evaluate canister failures, and simulate flow and advective transport in a conceptual repository site based on a selected reference case in an offshore island in western Taiwan. The typical KBS-3 disposal concept associated with 500 realizations of the shear-induced fracture properties is employed to quantify the uncertainty of flow and advective transport in the geological disposal site. The radionuclides in canisters are assumed to migrate through the shear-induced fractures surrounding the deposition holes. The results from 500 realizations show that two types of fractures produce a high potential to destroy canisters induced by the shear displacements. The earliest canister failure time influenced by possible shear movements is 0.23 million years for the reference case. The modeling framework identifies five canisters and the associated shear-induced fractures for flow and advective transport simulations. Based on the results of the density-dependent flow fields, the particle tracking algorithm enables the calculations of flow and transport parameters, including equivalent initial flux, equivalent flow rate, path length, travel time, and flow-related transport resistance for the identified five canisters. These parameters are critical for the performance and safety assessments of buffer erosion and canister corrosion near the disposal repository and the far field of the radioactive waste disposal site.

Keywords: flow and transport; earthquake; shear displacement; canister failure; geological disposal; particle tracking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/13/5081/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/13/5081/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:13:p:5081-:d:1184154

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().